cynical
distrusting or disparaging the motives of others; like or characteristic of a cynic.
showing contempt for accepted standards of honesty or morality by one's actions, especially by actions that exploit the scruples of others.
bitterly or sneeringly distrustful, contemptuous, or pessimistic.
(initial capital letter) cynic (def. 5).
Origin of cynical
1synonym study For cynical
Opposites for cynical
Other words from cynical
- cyn·i·cal·ly, adverb
- cyn·i·cal·ness, noun
- an·ti·cyn·i·cal, adjective
- an·ti·cyn·i·cal·ly, adverb
- qua·si-cyn·i·cal, adjective
- qua·si-cyn·i·cal·ly, adverb
- sem·i·cyn·i·cal, adjective
- sem·i·cyn·i·cal·ly, adverb
- su·per·cyn·i·cal, adjective
- su·per·cyn·i·cal·ly, adverb
- su·per·cyn·i·cal·ness, noun
- un·cyn·i·cal, adjective
- un·cyn·i·cal·ly, adverb
Words Nearby cynical
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use cynical in a sentence
He writes that criticism of his performance on nursing homes was the organized and cynical work of Republicans looking to avoid accountability for their own failures in the face of the crisis.
Not Mentioned in Cuomo’s Coronavirus Book: How Many Nursing Home Residents Died in New York | by Joe Sexton | October 23, 2020 | ProPublicaSo she was “pretty cynical” when a friend invited her to be a private beta tester for a new social-media platform, Telepath, in March 2019.
A new social-media platform wants to enforce “kindness.” Can that ever work? | Tanya Basu | October 7, 2020 | MIT Technology ReviewMore recently, however, concerns about misinformation, disinformation, and worse have left many much more cynical.
The race for a COVID-19 vaccine shows the power of ‘community intelligence’ | matthewheimer | September 9, 2020 | FortuneThen again, his theory for why it’s become a leaguewide trend is a more cynical one.
The Pace Of Play Has Never Been Faster In The WNBA | Howard Megdal | August 6, 2020 | FiveThirtyEightI actually, despite being very cynical, I actually have a much more optimistic view of it.
In Moscow, many people have grown cynical about the money evaporating in their pockets.
Recession? Devaluation? Inflation? Putin Tells Russia Stay the Course. | Anna Nemtsova | December 4, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST“I hate to be cynical about it, but I think some of the films made are made very cynically,” she says.
‘The Babadook’ Is the Best (and Most Sincere) Horror Movie of the Year | Samuel Fragoso | November 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTA cynical old Chicago lawyer once described this as the theory that “out of the clash of lies, truth will emerge.”
Ferguson’s Grand Jury Bought Darren Wilson’s Story | Paul Campos | November 25, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTKlein is simultaneously not only cynical about political leaders, but dismissive of them.
Naomi Klein’s ‘This Changes Everything’ Will Change Nothing | Michael Signer | November 17, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAt its worst, The Stranger merely recycles the biases, conventional wisdom, and cynical bitterness of inside-the-beltway habitués.
Death, to do him justice, he had met with none of the cowardice he had vaunted, and consistently with his arid cynical soul.
Ancestors | Gertrude AthertonThere was a quiet, cynical smile on his face as he sat there beating a tattoo on his leggings with a hickory twig.
The Soldier of the Valley | Nelson LloydThat gratitude is the expectation of favors to come was, in the case of Aristide, a cynical and inapplicable proposition.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol | William J. LockeSomething seemed to puzzle him, for he was frowning, but by and by the old cynical smile came back.
The Soldier of the Valley | Nelson LloydHis smile was cynical, and suggested a kind of contemptuous pity for the person to whom he spoke.
The Everlasting Arms | Joseph Hocking
British Dictionary definitions for cynical
/ (ˈsɪnɪkəl) /
distrustful or contemptuous of virtue, esp selflessness in others; believing the worst of others, esp that all acts are selfish
sarcastic; mocking
showing contempt for accepted standards of behaviour, esp of honesty or morality: the politician betrayed his promises in a cynical way
Derived forms of cynical
- cynically, adverb
- cynicalness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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